Eric

Why I shouldn’t check email late at night

I had an interesting experience this weekend that provoked me to consider deeply why I think email late at night is bad for me.

Here are my top three reasons:

1. Whether I intend it or not, most email is directly related to work. Even if I’m just glancing for an answer to one question, invariably there is something else there which may flip on the “time to think about work” machine in my brain. I have found that once this happens I have difficulty going to sleep. And even when I do, I don’t sleep well.

2. My filters don’t work as well at night. Every day things cross my path (electronically or in person) which I have to respond to. My preferred response in every situation is a gracious, God-honoring, “how can I be a servant here to bring resolution” type response. Sometimes, my natural response is not that. 🙂 When my feelings are less positive, I attempt to filter these out rather than letting them get into my communications. Except at night. At night, when tired, I don’t have the same patience or self-control, so the filters fail. When this happens, a friend or team member (or worse, my boss) gets an email response that reflects my negative mindset at the time. Not usually a good idea.

3. Even though I choose to limit when I check email, I have observed that everyone doesn’t do the same. Some people look at email on their phone whenever it comes in. As much as I might discourage this, I am not likely to change it. So, my last reason why email at night is bad for me is simply for the sake of the receivers. Because if they don’t protect themselves from thinking about work at night, I can protect them by not sending them anything.

What about you? Any other reasons why you think email at night is a bad idea?

Don’t be the boss everyone likes

I have held managerial responsibility for other people since my first job at 16. I’m pretty sure I haven’t always been great at it. One struggle I have had is always wanting my people to like me. This seems like it would be a good thing but I have discovered several reasons over time why I no longer want to be “the boss everyone likes”.

1. Nothing gets done because the boss holds no one accountable to their commitments. No accountability = no results.

2. Bad news is uncomfortable to deliver and to receive. If you can only say what you think people want to hear, you can’t be honest. No honesty = no trust.

3. No decisions are made because inevitably someone disagrees with someone else. No decisions = perpetual stalemate.

4. No conflict is allowed in meetings when the boss is afraid of hurt feelings. No conflict means there is no healthy exchange of ideas, which generally leads to only mediocre ideas getting presented. Everyone can agree on mediocre. People who want better will leave the organization to find a place where conflict promotes improvement.

I still fight the tendency to fall into these bad habits from time to time, but I clearly recognize that when I choose to prioritize things other than being liked, I am much more effective as a supervisor.

What about you? Ever made these mistakes and suffered the organizational consequences?

Put it in park to refill the tank

This morning, I was praying with a couple of guys and talking about my plans for the day.

SIDEBAR: for anyone who doesn’t have one or two people that you can chart the course of life with, in addition to your spouse, I highly recommend it. Life’s more fun in the context of relationship.

Because Sunday is a workday for me, Monday is my “Sabbath”, a day I intend to rest, get refreshed and energized for the week ahead. Honestly, though, I often fill this day with errands, catchup projects around the house, or even work related items. I just do this at a lower pace than my regular workdays. That’s what your “day off” is for, right?

Well, maybe not, since God specifically commanded us to “keep the Sabbath holy”.

Consider yourself like a car with multiple gears…

you have to put it in park to refuelAs we were praying, God brought to my mind the image of a gear shift in a manual transmission. The image suggested that most days, I’m running in fourth or fifth gear. When I just “slow down” on my day off, I might be shifting into first or second. Sometimes I might be very intentional about not doing any work. Even then, the momentum of yesterday and what I’m thinking about for the week keeps me in a work oriented flow. I’m basically shifting into neutral (but I’m still rolling :).

I think to really refuel though, you have to shift into park. You can’t be half moving, letting your mind consider projects that you will be picking up again tomorrow. You need rest!

That may mean shutting off the phone or laptop, getting away from your house to a refreshing place, scheduling time with a friend, or planning a special family outing.

For those of us who spend life in overdrive, this can be hard to do, but it’s worth it. A few years back, I sat down and made a list of things that refresh me. When I know I need time like this, I refer to the list and make it happen.

What do you do?

What do you do to refuel or recharge? When was the last time you put it completely in park to really refuel? Make time to “Sharpen the Saw”, as Stephen Covey encourages here.